It is curious to what extent we have already got the issue of subscriptions into our heads that, looking to replay PSX’s Metal Gear Solid, the first instinct has been to go to the new PlayStation Plus without much success. For now it is not there, but in the process of looking for it I have remembered that it was in GOG and I have fallen without hesitation.
The culprit, though too often we don’t factor them into the equation of stores, megacorps, and subscriptions, has been a free-to-play itch.io game called Covert Critter. A fantastic tribute to Kojima’s game for the first PlayStation that has been responsible for reminding me how much I enjoyed it metal gear solid.
Tactical Espionage Action
Born from a 12-day project for a Game Jam with the word “critter” (bug) as a theme, this team of an artist and a programmer shaped Covert Critter with the intention of replicating the stealth puzzles of the mythical metal gear solid.
Without a great story to lean on, and with the limitation of not being able to engage with the guards, everything comes down to going through levels in search of keys to steal and cameras to dodge stuck to the wall. Despite this, he manages so that we do not miss the weapons or the CQC in the half hour that his eight-level adventure lasts.
To do this, pull the chameleon that it has as its protagonist and its power to camouflage itself. One skill depletion bar and we have another mechanic to calculate patrol times, play around the map avoiding vision cones, and crouching behind an enemy to steal a color key.
He does not have the inventiveness of those VR Missions that even today are still for framing, but it compensates with gadgets such as night vision goggles, the drone or banana skin to provide variety and that an area is never too demanding.
It never goes without saying that, despite being free on its itch.io page, if you like it, you have the possibility to thank its creators by paying the amount you think is appropriate. Hopefully they get enough to be able to take this project one step further.
The indie tribute to Metal Gear Solid
Covert Critter It has not been the only indie project that has wanted to pay homage to Metal Gear, so if you are left wanting more tactical espionage action but you already have the original saga very burned out, you may be interested in signing up for a couple more games.
The first is even more special because we owe it to unepic-franthe national developer who, after doing the same with his hilarious tribute to dungeon crawlers, once again pulled humor to bring us back to the MSX classics with his UnMetal.
Launched at the end of last year in PC and consoles, is one of those titles that remind us how much we miss games embracing humor. A little gem that also knows how to entertain and be original in the playable.
Another game that fans of metal gear solid is Undetected, although its demo published on Steam is still far from the promise of its first trailer. With the PSX game as inspiration but also drinking from the later ones, here if we recover the pistol with a silencer, the somersault to knock down enemies or the first person shots.
It’s the work of another of those awesome orchestral developers, so maybe it still has a long way to go. At the moment it appears listed without a launch window, which smells like “patience“. We will follow it closely in the hope that this timid fashion of recovering great ideas of the 90s become a trend.